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Iota Arae
Iota Arae is a planet in the Ara Sector of the Perseus Quadrant of the Milky Way Galaxy. It is a Terra Alpha class planet, one of ten in the 116 534 Arae system. Iota Arae occupies the seventh orbit of a hot F-type star. Iota Arae is the homeworld of Joelon Tomcufcik. (Worlds Apart short stories: "Aerona" and "Triton Lyra" ("Free Worlds 1") and "Ui") He also makes an appearance in the Novella "A Day to Remember." Geography and Climate Two major and two minor continents contain the bulk of Iota Arae's landmass. Its surface is 66% water, 34 per cent landmass. The largest continent, Broad Teske, is situated around the southern pole and is mostly uninhabited. The twin continents Ankeny and Cayd Lara occupy the middle southern latitudes. Davenport continent lies to the north. The planet's sky is a deep blue color, bordering on indigo. Culture and History The planet was surveyed by the Survey Ship Tryoshnikova in the 50th solar century. The system was not colonized until the 52nd solar century, one of the last planets of the Perseus quadrant colonized before the Tarmigan Apocalypse. At the time of the Tarmigan apocalypse, two centuries later, the planet had fewer than a half million inhabitants. Like several other worlds that survived the Apocalypse, Iota Arae turned against technology, and for many centuries deliberately kept their planet at low levels of development for fear of attracting Tarmigans. The population grew gradually during the 1,600 years of the Great Silence, eventually reaching an equilibrium of a half billion people. The planet was rediscovered by the Sapphirean warship Salient Gravitas in SY7338 by accident as no record of the colony had been found in surviving records. Salient Gravitas had emerged from hyperspace in the 116 534 Lyra system as the result of a navigational error and detected a terra-class planet, which the crew investigated. Iota Arae's culture was unevenly advanced. Some areas had levels of technology approaching those of the more advanced worlds. There were global communication networks, and fusion energy power sources. Other areas were far less advanced, and there were a few tribes that had chosen to continue living in a deliberately anti-technological state. Kingery had remained the planet's capital since colonial times, although new independent districts had come and gone over the centuries. In SY 7358, the planet declined an offer of membership in the New Galactic Commonwealth and instead became a member of the Free Worlds Affiliation through a series of treaties with its member worlds. It opened up trading relations with Arrowhead and Good Hope (in the Ara Sector) and established a diplomatic mission to the New Galactic Commonwealth on the Chapterhouse StarLock. It joined the StarForce Alliance in SY 7372, and Iotian personnel serve on StarForce vessels through the StarForce Cooperation Treaty. As of the Solar Year 7380, there were over half a billion people residing on Iota Arae. Its capital and largest city is Kingery, on the Davenport continent. Colton on Cayd Lara and Ayr Hondred on Ankeny are regional capitals and major cities. Its people have a reputation for politeness and a strong work ethic. Around a fourth of the population has a genetic anomaly resulting in patterns of leopard-like spots across their arms, legs, and back.